Tag: visual art

8th grade – watercolor & mixed media

8th grade – watercolor & mixed media

Description of the Unit – This is a purely technical unit that allows students to explore combining watercolor painting techniques with other media.

An 8th grade student's technique sheet representing watercolor mixed with various media
An 8th grade student’s technique sheet. These are experiments that add a variety of media to watercolor to test the effects
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4th Grade Surrealist Collage

4th Grade Surrealist Collage

Description of the Unit – Observing the work of several Surrealist collage artists, like Julien Pacaud, students will learn about the meaning of the term Surrealism, and how it is used in collage art. They will then go on to create their own weird, wild and wonderful collages, using varied sources such as books, magazines, and hand-made paper, while also including an image of themselves within the composition.

Surrealist collages by Julien Pacaud, unknown, and Ayham Jabr
Surrealist collages by (l-r): Julien Pacaud, unknown artist, and Ayham Jabr
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6th Grade – Frank Stella, Protractor Series Designs

6th Grade – Frank Stella, Protractor Series Designs

Description of the Unit – Students will observe and discuss the work of Frank Stella, focusing particularly on his Protractor series, and will themselves use a protractor to create designs inspired by this series.

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Kindergarten – Picasso’s Dog Lump

Kindergarten – Picasso’s Dog Lump

Description of the Unit – It’s a fun experiment to introduce students this young to the concept of multiple perspectives. To approach this concept in a playful way, students created a Picasso-inspired oil pastel illustration of his beloved dog Lump.

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3rd Grade – Cityscape Mosaics inspired by Paul Klee

3rd Grade – Cityscape Mosaics inspired by Paul Klee

This is an exciting, multistep exploration of shape and color inspired by one of my favorite artists, Paul Klee. This unit is an extension of a previous one, which you can see here: https://anitasagastegui.com/2020/06/08/3rd-grade-paul-klees-magic-square-series/. The difference being that this time students are creating mosaic collages rather than drawings, so we emphasize the terms background, middle ground and foreground, as well an understanding of overlapping elements.

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Kindergarten: Monet’s Water Lilies

Kindergarten: Monet’s Water Lilies

Description of the Unit – Students will be “introduced” to Monet and will learn all about the ways he approached painting the world around him. Students will try to recreate his painting of water lilies, paying attention to their brushstrokes and the colors they choose.

Examples of Kindergarten student's Monet-inspired water lilies. Tempera paint on canvas.
Kindergarten student’s Monet-inspired Water Lilies
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3rd Grade – Taking Inspiration from Bridget Riley’s Op Art

3rd Grade – Taking Inspiration from Bridget Riley’s Op Art

Description of the Unit – This delightful unit introduces students to optical illusion art. Students will observe and discuss different examples of optical illusion art, focusing particularly on the work of Bridget Riley. Using basic measurement skills, students will create their own two-color optical illusion design.

A photo of Op Art painter Bridget Riley in her studio, some time in the 60's.
Bridget Riley in her studio
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Kindergarten – Simple Watercolor Resist

Kindergarten – Simple Watercolor Resist

Description of the Unit – Students will learn about oil’s resistance to water both in nature and through the media of watercolor and crayon, and explore this resistance via playful experimentation and one finished composition.

Kindergarten watercolor & crayon resist, finished composition. This shows a blue cat with purple stripes, a flower and a sun on a blue background.
Kindergarten watercolor & crayon resist, finished composition

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